The archives of the articles, reviews, interviews and other ramblings written by Sarah E. Jahier (aka Fatally Yours).

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Viscera 2010 Film Festival DVD (2011)

This February’s Women in Horror Month has brought a lot of attention
to many talented females in the horror industry. However, another
amazing woman-centric event is the Viscera Film Festival that features
titles directed and/or produced strictly by women. This female-focused
film festival was started in 2007 by Shannon Lark and continues to be a wonderful resource for both female filmmakers and fans of horror alike!

The DVD begins with a few very short shorts. The first is Mary Jane Go Round
by Ginetta Correlli. This is a beautiful black and white experimental
film. It features a woman crying in bed and images of a creepy, old
amusement park. I really enjoyed the melancholy look and feel of the
short.

Next up is Salome’s Picnic by Victoria Waghorn. This
had a vintage feel to it with its sepia-toned film stock and had a
quite sensual feel to it…that is, until you realize exactly what is
going on in this “picnic”!

Sophie Lagues’ Barbie Butcher put a little fun and
quirky humor into the proceedings with its stop-motion animation of a
green blob monster dismembering a Barbie doll. Quick and simple, I
nevertheless enjoyed this creepy cute film!

In Lis Fies’ Consumed, a furry little pup is a girl’s best friend, even after death. This short reminded me a bit of Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, only with a much darker tone, which is just the way I like it!

Distraught by Brenda Fies features a mom and her
little girl who move to Hollywood for a better life. When the mom buys a
gun for protection she has no idea the danger she has brought into her
home. This was definitely one of the most serious of the shorts, and
perhaps that is why I didn’t enjoy it as much as the others.

One of the best shorts is Marichelle Daywalt’s Mockingbird.
A man sits at home listening to his wife sing “Mockingbird” to their
newborn over the baby monitor…but soon realizes all is not as it seems.
This short was extremely well set up and features an ending so shocking
and unexpected it’s like a sucker-punch to the gut! I’m definitely
looking forward to what Daywalt does in the future!

Switch by Melanie Light is another amazing short
that features a nice twist when a serial killer goes after the wrong
woman. I loved the wonderful use of titles at the beginning of the
short, not to mention the snowy location and overall look of the film.
Just like Daywalt above, I can’t wait to see what Light does next!

Next was I Spit on Eli Roth, a short film by Devi
Snively. This short has actually been around for a while and I’ve been
dying to see it! Snively is one talented filmmaker and already one of my
faves, so I couldn’t wait to check this one out. In the short, Devi
plays herself and along with her female friends she kidnaps Eli Roth to
teach him a thing or to about the horror genre. Remember, “Friends Don’t
Let Friends Denigrate the Horror Genre!” This is a funny spoof, and
although I do like Eli Roth I found Snively’s message to be on point!

Another excellent short was Beautiful as You Are,
which was produced by Mary Katherine Sisco. I loved the surreal aspect
of the short, which features a TV addict that finds the body of a woman
and replaces her head with that of a TV. This is a subtly creepy short
that has a perfect ending!

The last short on the DVD was Hollywood Skin by
Maude Michaud. A woman moves to Los Angeles to pursue her acting dreams
but is told again and again she is “too big” to land roles. This leads
her to pursue plastic surgery, but inflicted by her own hand. I really
loved the social commentary Michaud addresses with this short. Michaud
critiques the obsession the entertainment industry, and society as a
whole, has with being skinny.

Viscera Film Festival has succeeded again in encouraging female
filmmakers to come forward and showcase their works in the horror genre
as well as showing the general population that, yes, women CAN direct
some damn fine horror films. Now how about someone gives these fine
filmmakers some dough so they can bring us the next best thing in the
horror genre?